Next Quiet Skies Coalition meeting will be Tuesday, June 6 at Gregory Heights

The next Quiet Skies Coalition meeting is set for Tuesday, June 6, starting at 6:30 p.m. at Gregory Heights Elementary School in Burien.

“As many of you already know, the FAA was forced to stop the new flight path over our city,” Larry Cripe, the group’s President said in a statement. “The FAA implemented this new flight path without following their own necessary protocol and procedures, including NOT doing any environmental studies or city and public discussions.”

“However, since this victory represents just one battle and not the war, we remain vigilant,” Crime added. “And, unfortunately, we must also anticipate that these flights might resume when aircraft are departing to the north, which are based on the FAA’s false claim that there is historical precedent that allows it to do these turns over our city.”

The Quiet Skies Coalition and the City of Burien have already advised our attorney in San Francisco that we staunchly disagree with any claim by the FAA that there is historical precedent for this new route, and our legal firm is in the process of taking the necessary steps to prevent the resumption of this activity. We will update you with the results as they happen.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
The Coalition needs someone to manage a group of volunteers who will be passing out neighborhood flyers and yard signs, and getting petitions signed.

Comments

We need to be careful with this. Sea-Tac is a vital economic driver of our City. Rather than saying no noise, lets work with them and educate both sides. I’ve lived under a run way for years and have no issues. The airport has provided triple pain windows and worked with us. The key is working together rather then telling and fighting with them.

Sorry Lee I do not agree, at all. The Port has devalued all properties north and south of landing runways. Here we are in King Co, where all other areas are increasing in value and our properties are hindered by so many things related to the airport.
Here’s my list:
1. We cannot have schools in our neighborhoods.
2. No new sewer lines have been added to our streets in decades
3. Little street improvements or sidewalk or lighting has been added for decades
4. Outside use of property is subject to constant noise and jet exhaust/grime
5. Our local stores and restaurants have been closed
6. Our once thriving local bird population and beautiful trees are shown no mercy from the port.
Our once peaceful neighborhoods are now subject to being taken over by industrial parks with semi traffic and/or gang members as owners move away and sell/rent to those who will live under such conditions.

Interesting when the highline school district has had the funding for new schools or to rebuild they seem to do it.

Sewers are a toss up I know in my neighborhood some have been against putting them do to cost of hooking up to sewer. Roughly $20,000 per household for one lot access. Now some on my block have multiple lots. That would like to build garages with a apartment but cost of sewage hook up. Has been a issue.

Little street improvements that is city issue not a port issue

Local stores and restaurants closing do to airport issue’s where is the proof. The airport usually brings in business like tourist. That look for places to eat and shop.

Captain O, The properties directly north and south of the airport runways have been forever changed by being in proximity to those runways and thus have lost value through no fault of their owners.

To the north, our schools were closed – Sunny Terrace elementary, Sunset Jr. High, Glacier High School as examples. Those were each relatively new schools. New schools can improve residential property value, No new schools can be built under flight paths, which lowers property value in those neighborhoods.

Our local businesses on Des Moines Way were forced to close. The Red Apple Market, and neighboring bowling alley, barbershop, newly built apartment building and housing developments and Seiki’s Plant Nursery were all closed and removed along with many individual residences and other businesses due to the airport expansion. This lowered the property value for the owners who remained in the area.

Because our area is always subject to airport expansion, SW Suburban Sewer will not venture to lay new sewer lines in our area, even at our request. Those of us who have several lots would love to develop them but find little interest or very low bids without sewer availability. Adding septic systems is not as cost effective as it once was. Size of lots and residences are under different guidelines now. Sewer systems are more accommodating and improve property value.

The continued threat of airport expansion is why our area never gets street improvements, that is unless those improvements are to serve entry and exit to and from a so called industrial park or airport reserve parking lots. The long time residents can’t even get decent driveway aprons, sidewalks, curbing, ditches/drainage or sidewalks. Having such things would certainly improve the property value.

The Airport most certainly has devalued our properties and neighborhoods and the city council not only ignores this fact, but rubs salt in the wound by bringing in a so called industrial park and allowing airport reserved parking lots into our once quiet residential neighborhoods.

This is all to say nothing of asking us to remove our tall trees and doing whatever they can to chase away our eagles and hawks, part of the reason we originally chose to live in what was once, in my life time, a very pretty and peaceful place.

Most if not all those property owners got paid to move. Then you talk about lack of improvements what about the new park and walking path in those parcels. That where bought by the port and sold to burien.

Sunny Terrace elementary
Built in/around 1960 and closed as a school in 1976, NAVOS had occupied the site from 1979 to Oct. 2012 before moving to its new facility at SW 136th Street and Ambaum Boulevard SW.

Sunset Junior High School
Completed in 1958, Sunset Junior High School survived just 15 years. Robert Sealey was assigned the first principalship as he opened Sunset. Shortly after Sunset was in
operation, work began on a “second” runway at SeaTac. Sunset was impacted severly
and by 1975 the site was no longer tenable. It was transferred to the Port of Seattle as
part of the settlement of a suit by the district against the port.

Glacier High School
Building a new middle school at the Glacier site means saying goodbye to the structure that housed Glacier High School from 1960-1980. Hardly a trace of Glacier High School remains at the site because the buildings were later used by a variety of organizations.
Users included a police training academy, and the site served as the temporary home of Big Picture School. The gym was rented for a number of years to Sound Athletics whose logo remains.
Many Glacier alumni have expressed fond memories of their years there, before the third runway displaced many of their homes and eliminated the need for the school. They are hosting an all-school reunion at Azteca in Burien on Saturday, June 17, 2017.

We are working with alumni to arrange for a time that former Glacier students can walk through parts of the property before the buildings are torn down in July.

You fail to mention north Sea-tac park and it’s improvements the sports areas for baseball, basketball,and even frisbee golf. Now the baseball field can bring in money by teams renting it out. Then​ you have the miles of trails that are great for walking.

The airport parking lot your speaking of I’m​ guessing is the park and jet 2 lot next to Miller creek. That was built approximately 28 years after that land was bought and sold by the port.

The land was purchased for $850,000,00 in 2005 built on in 2007 to 2008. These areas also run on the rain water drainage system the rest of city runs​ on.

Impovments come when appoverd by the city of Burien not the port for that area. On the east side of Des Moines Memorial.

Also in my neighborhood most streets don’t have sidewalks ether and I live near the top hat neighborhood so see it’s not just airport thing. It has do with over all need for the item and price of item. When the city knows what works why change things​ at a cost to the tax payer. You have think putting in sidewalks takes a lot of planning and construction costs.

I can agree with a few of your points, however sewers, lights, and schools are city issues.
Closing businesses are usually either city or company issues. I do agree, however, with your points on birds, trees, property value, peace on your on property, and especially on the gangs.

Hidden Name, I understand that such things are usually decided by the local jurisdiction. We do not have access to new sewers and street improvements because the possibility of air port expansion limits any thought of investment or further development in our neighborhood. That has been so for decades. This was once a nice neighborhood that has been forever changed by the airports unfair treatment of those property owners who were not bought out. Now when such utilities are being added, it is to accommodate port related facilities that have been forced on us, but still no improvement in our needs, the long time tax payers.

SW Suburban sewer has been going to court back and forth for years trying to force sewer on to my neighborhood and some others. I think clean it up you need look in to some of information differs from neighborhood to neighborhood.

A lot stuff your talking about are old issue’s like where school are found not be needed anymore. That most have been removed in the 70s and 80s or building reused. The sewer issue is still one that’s a toss up some want it some don’t or can’t afford hookup charges. Sidewalks ask the city they will tell you costs are a issue or if anything they put those little wires across the road to count traffic. If they find there enough car traffic then sidewalks might be needed. Then look at the budget or vote for a tax increase but when the school district is having issues getting taxes raised. Do you think the city going to have any luck.

Captain O you fail to acknowledge that all of the things I speak of, have happened because of the airport expansion over decades and has thus devalued our properties. The port picks and chooses the properties they will buy out. Those owners who were not bought out are left without the schools they helped pay for to say nothing of local businesses that the port forced out. The parks and trails were the Port’s attempt to sweeten their sour deal. With regard to the effect on our property value, it’s not a fair trade. Not even close. And that is to say nothing of loss of tax income for Burien.

The issues with sewer lines and street improvement are such because our area is seen as possibly being usurped by the airport and thus not worthy of upgrade. This devalues our property. One pays property tax for over 60 years, one feels they deserve better than the way we have been treated, and now fast becoming a back alley for industrial semis and gang members as a result of the cities neglect of our neighborhood.

All I could say is someone that chooses to by property close to any airport has to expect some expansion. It’s unfortunate that you blame the port for city issue’s and personal home owners choice in spending $20,000 to hook up to sewer or sticking to septic tanks. That feed the big trees in are yards nutrients and help with ground moisture in hot summer months.

It’s kinda like blaming the port for lack of personal jet packs or hover craft vehicles. Things change some people in the 70s and 80s thought airport expansion would never happen. So they choose to buy land next to airport or in the flight path.

Well unfortunately those people made the wrong choice or had the wrong idea.

Now it’s 2017 the port can’t really do much to change the past and city not responsible for the past.

Many properties were bought in the 40’s and 50’s by men coming back from their time in the service. We voted for new schools (as you have documented) which we collectively paid for and then they had to be closed because of airport mandates when the Port expanded and the number of flights expanded and the jets grew in size. There were new homes being built and interest in our area that the airport has put the kibosh on time and time again. We were told another airport would be built rather than more expansion. I once described the Port as ‘sucker punchers’ and they really are. Our land value was rising but now never will. I am not just speaking for myself but for many long time home owners in our neighborhood. We invested in our property. We have been robbed by the effect of Airport expansion. And the Burien city council has turned their backs on the whole thing. The Port should have been force to buy us ALL out. If they continue to wait, they benefit by the effects of the deterioration they have caused. And Burien reaps the crop of creeps and gang members that infiltrate such areas. Such a stupid thing to ignore an area that was not so long ago a friendly neighborhood.

Your take on the beauty of septic systems, is not bore out by current shoreline policies. Our current ‘civilization’ discharges so much none nature friendly waste, that it often needs to be treated professionally to be of any benefit to anything growing in the ground or near by waters. Aside from heavy use of many cleaning products and bleach by the average household, businesses people who do not want to pay for the disposal of such things as chemicals, drugs, cleaning products and the list goes on, dump it in septic tanks.

Oh, and I just love a nature walk with a view of acres of parked cars on asphalt! Doesn’t everybody?

Oh yes clean it up on a walk trying to gather your thoughts. You don’t want to see to a company that brings in job opportunities and paid taxes to the community. No that would just ruin your walk. Thinking of all those people that might end up pan handling if they didn’t have that job.

Or walking by the new refrigerator warehouse that’s also providing more jobs to the area. No you must only see the negative impacts to your neighborhood from the 60’s 70’s and 80’s.

Not wanting to realize the financial impact the airport has for the area right clean it up. You just want spend your time complaining about the past.

Then you want to talk about sewers and septic tanks when a local treatment center for waste flooded recently. Then had to pump 100,000 of gallons of untreated waste from sewers in to the Puget sound. Because of a rain storm in Washington.

Now yes you are right there are some people that misuse septic tanks. But most find out the hard way. That proper care for your septic tank can​ save you money . Then to less time with a shovel and a old shop vac in a very stinky unpleasant area trying to save a penny doing the work your self. Trust me that is not a fun day. Asking your self how in the hell does corn do that? I mean come on its been over a month since we had corn with dinner and it’s still floating. Ok who farted? Sorry but sometimes humor makes the job a little easier.

You use the Internet all the time to dig up ‘the facts’ and I appreciate that. I just wonder why you dislike the facts from the person who has lived that history. I don’t bring this all up to wallow in the past, I am making the case of why our property value is sinking right now, today and why we don’t get utility and street improvements from as long ago as the 70’s and 80’s. I am making the case for how we should have been bought out long ago because of how the airport has ruined our neighborhood.

As to what people who have septic should do and actually goes on with septic systems that are well over 50 years old and were never designed for what the average house use is today, well it’s not good.

I didn’t put the nature walk next to the paved parking lot that you say employs soooo many people. They paved what was a truly beautiful bit of nature that you probably wouldn’t have appreciated, so I won’t bother you with the details. Then spent our money to ‘create ‘ a nature walk by the acres of paved land. Lovely.

It’s not dislike of facts it’s the fact that the street improvements and utility upgrades are now up to the city of burien and not the port.

Now you say your not trying to wallow but it sure seems as if your exactly doing that.

Also with septic tanks the proper servicing done we have not had a issue with are septic tank (getting it pumped and inspected every 4 to 8 years not flushing none flush-able items) . Other than in a big rain storm are lid slip and fell in one time so had to fix that. We lived in are home for a little over 30 years.

Your also talking about a time frame when doctor’s would recommend smoking lucky strike cigarettes and the game lawn darts was created. People really thought a Sasquatch was going eat them if they go in the woods.

The acres of paved land or trail you speak of are to keep the sticker and other bushes from over growing and making the trail unusable. Most likely wide enough for the utility crews and police cars to use.